December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

December 27, 2016: Providence Nurse Charged in Connection with Tampering with Oxycodone

Food and Drug Administration
Office of Criminal Investigations

U.S. Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
December 27, 2016

United States Department of Justice

District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A licensed nurse was charged today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with stealing oxycodone pills from a nursing home where she worked, and then attempting to conceal the theft by replacing the medication with another medication.

Charlotte Demers, 35, of Providence, R.I., was charged with tampering with a consumer product, specifically the Schedule II controlled substance oxycodone which is used for pain relief. Demers was released on conditions following an appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler.

The complaint alleges that between Sept. 12, 2016 and Oct. 8, 2016, while working as a Licensed Practical Nurse at Countryside Health Care in Milford, Mass., Demers tampered with blisterpacks of oxycodone that had been prescribed for residents of the nursing facility, by removing the oxycodone pills from the blisterpacks, replacing them with another medication, and then re-sealing the package.

The charging statute provides for a sentenced of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Jeffrey Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Food and Drugs, Drug Control Program, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.